NEW ORLEANS (press release) — Teach For America Greater New Orleans has welcomed 13 experienced educators from 11 public schools across greater New Orleans to the 2022 cohort of the TFA GNO Alumni Coaching Fellowship. Since its inception in 2020, this is the first year the fellowship has expanded to include both alumni of the Teach For America program and non-alumni teachers. Their work will impact more than 2,000 students in Orleans and Jefferson parishes through coaching and supporting novice teachers also teaching at their schools.
“The primary indicator of strong student outcomes is an effective teacher,” said TFA GNO Executive Director Ge’ron Tatum. “The ACF provides a valuable resource to students, teachers, and schools through developing the skills of the Greater New Orleans teacher force. We’ve already seen impressive results from our previous cohorts and knew we could amplify that impact by sharing this opportunity with all teachers in the region.”
Now in its third year, the ACF was created by TFA GNO to help support the development of mid-level teacher leaders with three to five years of teaching experience, and to add instructional leadership capacity to schools that partner with Teach For America. Fellows develop valuable leadership and coaching skills while providing an important resource to participating school partners through additional on-site support for TFA corps members and other teachers in their first and second years of teaching.
Taylor Johns, a 2018 TFA GNO alumna teaching at Abramson Sci Academy, was an Alumni Coaching Fellow in the 2021 cohort. She found the experience to be incredibly valuable and went on to work as a mentor teacher at TFA GNO’s pre-service training program for new corps members last summer.
“I joined the TFA GNO Alumni Coaching Fellowship because I believe that supporting the ‘whole person’ applies to teachers just as it does to students,” said Taylor. “Teaching is just as challenging as it is rewarding, but the challenges often make new teachers believe that they are unfit for the job. It is important to me to help them see that they are in fact the right person to be in the classroom.”
Through the fellowship, Taylor coached 2021 corps member Bobby Daly at her school in the 2021-2022 school year. Her support of Bobby was integral to his success as a first-year teacher which led in part to his being a finalist for Louisiana New Teacher of the Year.
“Being the experienced teacher she is, Taylor has a wealth of knowledge,” explained Bobby. “Every challenge I was facing, she had also encountered at some point in her career. Her ability to offer suggestions from experience while encouraging me to believe in myself and create systems that are unique to my teaching style allowed me to grow more confident as an educator.”
The fellowship also supports teacher retention through expanding professional development opportunities for teachers. After its first year, ninety percent of alumni coaching fellows were retained in their school for another year, two fellows were promoted to leadership roles in their schools, and all partner school leaders reported they would participate in the program again. The 2022 TFA GNO Alumni Coaching Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of our partners at Baptist Community Ministries, College Football Playoff Foundation, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The 2022 cohort of the TFA GNO Alumni Coaching Fellowship includes:
- A’maara Apparbal, Arthur Ashe Charter School
- Adam Stagg, Dolores T. Aaron Academy
- Annalee Jackson, Livingston Collegiate Academy
- Daimont Staples, G. W. Carver High School
- Jackie James, Bricolage Academy
- Jayde Larson, KIPP East Community Primary
- Jen Wilson Karaoglu, Success @ Thurgood Marshall
- Michelle Showers, Bricolage Academy
- Morgan Schoninger, Dolores T. Aaron Academy
- Penelope Bennett, Langston Hughes Academy
- Tessa Horn, Laureate Academy
- William Hackel, Mildred Osborne Charter School
- Jake Landry, Warren Easton High School
Teach For America works in partnership with 350 urban and rural communities across the country to expand educational opportunities for children. Founded in 1990, the nonprofit recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding leaders who make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity.
